Will you be shopping on Black Friday?

[wonder whisper]

There are actually still people who think getting the best deals require camping out in some parking lot on Thanksgiving?

 

[georgina]

Nope, I have never shopped then. Now that my kids are grown I am happy that I do no holiday shopping. I paid for their airline tickets home, and we did a family trip this year that I paid for, so we enjoy our time together without presents. If there is a sale somewhere on something that I want, I might buy it, but not on Friday and probably not in person.

 

[wonder whisper]

no one really has any thing big on their lists this year so I'm not too concerned about it.

You're not alone. This is one of the first years I can remember so little media hype about what the supposed "hot" items are. Any of the crazies who could not see a reason to keep living without an Iphone X (which as expected is already getting critiqued by the early adopters for having a bunch of bugs that need to be fixed) already lined up for those. And are there really still a gazillion people looking for a flat screen TV or a tablet?

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

It's almost time...

Will you be participating in the shopping craze? In person? Online? A combo of both? Any stores in particular you know you're hitting?

I am due to have a baby next week so we are sitting out of in-person shopping. We will probably participate in some minimal online shopping but it should be a quiet year for us.

What about you?

In store, nope
1. I hate crowds
2. People get stupid in crowds
3. I feel for the people having to work in those crowds.

Online, maybe a little.
I just need to get something for each of the grandkids. One is getting a little rolling backpack, a portable drawing board (you know, the ones that use a "magic" pen attached) and one more thing. Not sure for the other baby or the older one (probably just gift cards for him). Amazon/Walmart/Target
I need to ship a few gifts to DD#1 and SoIL#1 (a WoW cookbook and a couple movies). Already got DD#2 and SoIL#2 a tool set and bag. Just need to get something for each daughter only.
DS wants a new computer chair and cash. He's saving for...ok, I don't know exactly what he's saving for right now, but he said he's saving, so there you go.
DH is building himself a computer, so he's getting that, a desk and chair. He threw a few upgrades onto mine this month for my gift. Plus I want a vacuum cleaner (a good one) and an Instant Pot.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Might do some on Thanksgiving day, I will also try to find stuff online. I will have to work on Friday I am sure, so no shopping for me.

 

[Micca]

Maybe on-line, but not in person.

 

[missbrooke06]

Yes, at Meijer. No online option there.

 

[aristocatz]

I have no real interest in the Black Friday craziness-I prefer to spend the day after Thanksgiving in my pj's lol. I am a big fan of Cyber Monday though!

 

[Hikergirl]

Hmm, The Dicks Sporting Goods ad just came out and what I want is a door buster. I think I will be able to order it online on Thanksgiving day.
The wording says 6PM Thursday-2PM Friday, shop all day Thanksgiving @Dicks.com
Sounds like I won't have to go out, although I admit I'm a little nervous about that website, years ago I'm pretty sure I went to that one and it was not the sporting good store

 

[QueenIsabella]

Hmm, The Dicks Sporting Goods ad just came out and what I want is a door buster. I think I will be able to order it online on Thanksgiving day.
The wording says 6PM Thursday-2PM Friday, shop all day Thanksgiving @Dicks.com
Sounds like I won't have to go out, although I admit I'm a little nervous about that website, years ago I'm pretty sure I went to that one and it was not the sporting good store

Yeah, you might want to be careful about how you type that one in...

 

[DVC-Don]

NO, I'll be busy decorating the exterior of my house.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We generally go out and buy our tree on Black Friday. We haul it home, decorate it and make Christmas candy and cookies. This year we may wait a few days since Thanksgiving is so early. If we wait, we will just spend Black Friday decorating the outside of the house and making sugar cookies.

Just curious what is your cutoff date for when Thanksgiving is too early?

For example in the U.S. it was the 22nd back in 2012, in 2011 it was the 24th and last year it was the 24th. This year it's the 23rd. Next year it will be the 22nd.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We'll probably go out but we do Nebraska Furniture Mart and usually Petsmart now. Sometimes JCP. There is a JCP is in the same area as Nebraska Furniture Mart so if we know we want something we'll make a stop there before going to Petsmart. By that time the sales have already been going since Thanksgiving and no one is really actually at JCP at that time actually on Black Friday so we don't have crowds. Petsmart doesn't have crowds but it does have lines.

Nebraska Furniture Mart is like what you would expect for a store closed on Thanksgiving and opened on Black Friday. This was their video they made of our store showing 2014 Black Friday (it was for marketing for the 2015 Black Friday but was actually filmed in 2014):

Funny thing is we were actually there when they were filming (though I don't remember seeing any thing filming my mind was on getting inside and to what I wanted) as we bought a new TV.

We used to do Walmart but stopped going there when they changed the DVD/Blu-Ray processes plus the sales were getting too early for those items it interferred with dinner with the in-laws.

 

[melanielll]

Just curious what is your cutoff date for when Thanksgiving is too early?

For example in the U.S. it was the 22nd back in 2012, in 2011 it was the 24th and last year it was the 24th. This year it's the 23rd. Next year it will be the 22nd.

This year is only one day after the earliest that Thanksgiving can be, so we will probably wait till the next weekend. I think the 25th is about the earliest we have gotten one. There is the theory that it is better to get the tree in water, but I just call around and see when a fresh shipment is coming in and go to those places the following week.

 

[nikkistevej]

I go every year. I love the "sport of it". It gets me in the holiday mood. I usually go by myself- which I prefer actually. My daughter(she's 15 now) went with me last year and really enjoyed it, so she's coming again. I have to work Friday 8:30am-5, but I'll just pull an all nighter and crash when I get home Friday night. I really love it, I usually online shop at work Friday too(it's not busy that day), and basically finish my shopping.

 

[soccerdad72]

There are actually still people who think getting the best deals require camping out in some parking lot on Thanksgiving?

Not all Black Friday shopping involved sleeping in a parking lot or flat screen TVs.

 

[wonder whisper]

Not all Black Friday shopping involved sleeping in a parking lot or flat screen TVs.

True, but the basic reality is the retail premise is to promote "killer" deals, where those who read the fine print realize there are only a handful of items with that discount available (not only in stores but also in many cases online). Or put in plain English, the core premise of Black Friday is "bait and switch," i.e. to get the consumer to into the store or website, where many who thought they were going to get a deal end up buying something that is not discounted (or has at best a relatively meaningless token discount).

The best discounts I've ever found in holiday shopping are are a handful of post Black Friday Amazon lightning deals, where I just happened to be faster clicking the mouse pad than the other 600 people who were also waiting to snipe the same great priced item (where the quantity Amazon was offering could usually be counted on one or at most two hands).

In closing, the smart money knows the best deals come before or after Black Friday, not on it.

 

[wonder whisper]

I have no real interest in the Black Friday craziness-I prefer to spend the day after Thanksgiving in my pj's lol. I am a big fan of Cyber Monday though!

Cyber Monday is over-hyped. The best online deals generally come before or after it.

 

[wonder whisper]

We'll probably go out but we do Nebraska Furniture Mart and usually Petsmart now. Sometimes JCP. There is a JCP is in the same area as Nebraska Furniture Mart so if we know we want something we'll make a stop there before going to Petsmart. By that time the sales have already been going since Thanksgiving and no one is really actually at JCP at that time actually on Black Friday so we don't have crowds. Petsmart doesn't have crowds but it does have lines.

Nebraska Furniture Mart is like what you would expect for a store closed on Thanksgiving and opened on Black Friday. This was their video they made of our store showing 2014 Black Friday (it was for marketing for the 2015 Black Friday but was actually filmed in 2014):

Funny thing is we were actually there when they were filming (though I don't remember seeing any thing filming my mind was on getting inside and to what I wanted) as we bought a new TV.

We used to do Walmart but stopped going there when they changed the DVD/Blu-Ray processes plus the sales were getting too early for those items it interferred with dinner with the in-laws.

Wonderful to see civilized people in Nebraska!!!!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Wonderful to see civilized people in Nebraska!!!!

Well they aren't in Nebraska the state..but inside Nebraska Furniture Mart in the Kansas City,KS location. They have 4 stores-one in Nebraska, one in Iowa, one in Kansas and one in Texas despite being called Nebraska Furniture Mart (they were founded Nebraska hence the name).

But thank you There are some pushing and whatnot because well you have a bunch of people and all but for the most part it's good. Things do fly off the tables and tvs gets scooped up quickly. The movies area with the DVDs/Blu-Rays can be hectic but there's no injuries thus far that I've seen when we've gone lol.